Greg Morris

Francis Gregory Alan Morris (September 27, 1933 – August 27, 1996) was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Barney Collier on the television series '' Mission: Impossible'' and Lieutenant David Nelson on ''Vega$''.

Early life and career

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to jazz trumpeter Francis Williams, Morris served in the United States Army during the Korean War. While in college at Iowa on the G.I. Bill, Morris was active in college theater and hosted the late afternoon Jazz radio show, "Tea-Time", on the University of Iowa station, WSUI. He co-produced concerts at the university with a student friend.

Morris began his television acting career in the 1960s, making guest appearances on numerous TV shows such as ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'', ''The Twilight Zone'' (" The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" from 1963), '' Branded'', and ''Ben Casey''. In 1966, Morris was cast in his most recognizable role as the team electronics expert Barney Collier in the TV series '' Mission: Impossible''. Morris acquired a reputation as a practical joker, often playing pranks on the rest of the ''Mission: Impossible'' cast and crew. Morris and Bob Johnson were the only actors to remain with ''Mission: Impossible'' throughout its entire run.

After Iowa, his first professional stage role was in ''The Death of Bessie Smith''. One of his earliest television roles was a cameo appearance on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' in the 1963 episode "That's My Boy?" in which Rob Petrie becomes convinced they have taken home the wrong baby from the hospital. The revelation of Morris's character as the other child's father prompted a record setting bout of laughter from the studio audience. He returned to the show in 1965 playing Frank "Sticks" Mandalay, a drummer, an army buddy of Rob. He also appeared in the 1963–64 season of ABC's drama about college life, '' Channing'', starring Jason Evers and Henry Jones.

After ''Mission: Impossible'' was cancelled, Morris appeared in several movies and made guest TV appearances, including ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' (Episode 1-05, "Little Orphan Airplane", 1974). Morris was then cast as Lieutenant David Nelson of the Las Vegas Metro Police in the ABC TV detective series ''Vega$'' (1978–1981), co-starring Robert Urich, Bart Braverman, and Phyllis Davis. On March 3, 1981, by which point most filming for the season had concluded, Morris was involved in a serious car accident on I-15 near Las Vegas.

After the cancellation of ''Vega$'', Morris continued to make guest TV appearances, including several episodes in the short-lived 1988–1990 remake of the ''Mission: Impossible'' TV series, starring his son Phil Morris. Phil Morris was cast as Grant Collier, the son of Barney. Morris also appeared in two episodes of the TV series ''What's Happening!!'' as Lawrence Nelson (father of Dwayne) and in three episodes of ''The Jeffersons'', in which he reprised his role as an electronics expert (although not as Barney Collier) in a comparison sequel of the ''Mission: Impossible'' series. Morris was also a frequent guest star on ''Password'', ''Tattletales'', and ''Password Plus'' in the 1960s and 1970s.

Shortly before his death in 1996, Morris saw the film version of '' Mission: Impossible'' starring Tom Cruise. He so disliked the movie that he left the theater early, calling it "an abomination."

Personal life

Morris married his wife Leona Keyes in 1956, and remained married for 40 years until his death in 1996. Together they had three children, including actor Phil Morris and actress Iona Morris. Leona Morris died on November 2, 2016, aged 81.

Death

Morris died on August 27, 1996, of lung and brain cancer in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 62.

Filmography

References

External links

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Greg Morris
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TV.com


'Mission: Impossible' actor dies

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Greg
1933 births
1996 deaths
American male television actors
Deaths from brain cancer in Nevada
American male film actors
Male actors from Cleveland
University of Iowa alumni
Deaths from lung cancer in Nevada
20th-century American male actors
20th-century African-American male actors